The Truth about Alzheimer's, Dementias, and other Neurodegenerative Diseases Revealed ...

491 Pages·2016·9.86 MB·English

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The
 End

of
 Alzheimer’s

A
 Differential
 Diagnosis

 Toward
 a
 Cure

The
 Truth
 about
 Alzheimer’s,
 Dementias,
 and
 other

Neurodegenerative
 Diseases
 Revealed.

Includes
 a
 Multi-­‐Stage
 Process
 of
 Screening,
 Early

Diagnosis,
 Root-­‐Cause
 Diagnosis,
 and
 Disease

Management/Treatment.

Thomas
 J.
 Lewis,
 PhD
 and

Clement
 L.
 Trempe,
 MD

Link
 to
 Table
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 Contents

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 All
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  iii
The
 End

of
 Alzheimer’s

A
 Differential
 Diagnosis

 Toward
 a
 Cure

The
 Truth
 about
 Alzheimer’s,
 Dementias,
 and
 other

Neurodegenerative
 Diseases
 Revealed.

Includes
 a
 5-­‐Phase
 Process
 of
 Screening,
 Early
 Diagnosis,
 Root
 Cause

Diagnosis,
 and
 Disease
 Management/Treatment.

Copyright
 ©
 2014
 by
 Thomas
 J.
 Lewis,
 PhD
 and
 Clement
 L.
 Trempe,
 MD

All
 rights
 reserved.

 No
 part
 of
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 publication
 may
 be
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 in
 a
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(photocopying),
 recording,
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 –
 without
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 permission
 in
 writing
 from

either
 of
 the
 authors.

For
 permission
 to
 use
 material
 from
 this
 book
 please
 contact
 us:
 [email protected]

Telephone
 603-­‐731-­‐0992;
 Fax
 781-­‐250-­‐8432

Website:
 http://www.realhealthsystems.com;

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ISBN-­‐13:
 978-­‐0692349854;
 ISBN-­‐10:
 0692349855

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Dedication

This
 work
 is
 dedicated
 to
 my
 (tjl)
 father,
 “Papa,”
 who
 passed
 from
 Alzheimer’s
 disease
 a

decade
 ago.
 It
 is
 also
 dedicated
 to
 my
 mother,
 Cecelia
 (Neema,
 Momalou).

My
 mother
 is
 very
 “old
 school,”
 having
 lived
 through
 the
 Great
 Depression
 and
 WWII.

She
 married
 my
 father
 at
 the
 age
 of
 24
 and
 was
 completely
 committed
 to
 family.
 She

never
 could
 envision
 abandoning
 him
 to
 someone
 else
 as
 he
 slipped
 into
 dementia.
 My

mother
 so
 completely
 and
 selflessly
 managed
 my
 father
 and
 the
 home,
 that
 my
 siblings

and
 I
 were
 insulated
 from
 his
 true
 condition.
 We
 did
 learn
 later
 that
 his
 behavior
 was

somewhat
 typical
 of
 Alzheimer’s
 patients
 in
 that
 during
 his
 severe
 episodes,
 he
 would

lash
 out
 and
 become
 violent.
 She
 often
 explained
 bruises
 as
 being
 caused
 by
 her

clumsiness.

Regardless
  of
  my
  father’s
  behavior
  and
  the
  prompting
  of
  his
  doctors,
  my
  mother

disregarded
 any
 suggestions
 to
 place
 him
 in
 full-­‐time
 care.
 She
 had
 vowed,
 at
 the
 time

of
 their
 wedding,
 to
 be
 there
 for
 him
 for
 better
 and
 for
 worse
 and
 in
 sickness
 and
 in

health.
 She
 was
 not
 one
 to
 compromise
 on
 her
 promise.
 What
 I
 neglected
 to
 consider

was
 that,
 since
 his
 fate
 was
 sealed,
 my
 efforts
 were
 not
 for
 my
 father
 but
 rather
 to
 help

my
 mother.
 She
 was
 always
 so
 strong
 and
 capable,
 so
 I
 assumed
 that
 she
 could
 and

would
 handle
 anything.

Ten
 years
 after
 the
 passing
 of
 my
 dad,
 my
 mom,
 at
 the
 age
 of
 91,
 is
 doing
 heroically

well.
 Thanks
 be
 to
 God.

-­‐
 Thomas
 J.
 Lewis,
 Ph.D.

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Modern
 civilization
 depends
 on
 science
 …
 knowledge
 should
 not
 be

viewed
 as
 existing
 in
 isolated
 parts,
 but
 as
 a
 whole,
 each
 portion
 of

which
 throws
 light
 on
 all
 the
 other,
 and
 that
 the
 tendency
 of
 all
 is
 to

improve
 the
 human
 mind,
 and
 give
 it
 new
 sources
 of
 power
 and

enjoyment
 …
 narrow
 minds
 think
 nothing
 of
 importance
 but
 their

own
 favorite
 pursuit,
 but
 liberal
 views
 exclude
 no
 branch
 of
 science

or
 literature,
 for
 they
 all
 contribute
 to
 sweeten,
 to
 adorn,
 and
 to

embellish
 life
 …
 science
 is
 the
 pursuit
 above
 all
 which
 impresses
 us

with
 the
 capacity
 of
 man
 for
 intellectual
 and
 moral
 progress
 and

awakens
 the
 human
 intellect
 to
 aspiration
 for
 a
 higher
 condition
 of

humanity.

-­‐ Joseph
 Henry

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Table
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 Contents

Dedication

Foreword

Preface

Chapter
 1:
 Is
 it
 Alzheimer’s
 Disease?

Chapter
 2:
 The
 Amyloid
 Cascade
 Hypothesis

Chapter
 3:
 Diagnosis
 of
 Alzheimer’s
 –
 Standard-­‐of-­‐Care

Chapter
 4:
 Diagnostic
 Accuracy

Chapter
 5:
 Can
 Medicine
 Save
 You?

Chapter
 6:
 A
 New
 Diagnostic
 Paradigm
 –
 The
 Eye

Chapter
 7:
 Inflammation
 –
 Friend
 or
 Foe?

Chapter
 8:
 Alzheimer’s
 Beyond
 the
 Brain

Chapter
 9:
 Does
 Infection
 Cause
 Alzheimer’s?

Chapter
 10:
 Alzheimer’s
 Disease
 Prevention

Chapter
 11:
 Differential
 Diagnosis
 Toward
 a
 Cure
 for
 Alzheimer’s

Chapter
 12:
 Personal
 Stories

Appendix
 1:
 Signs,
 symptoms,
 and
 stages
 of
 Alzheimer’s

Appendix
 2:
 Alzheimer’s
 Diagnosis
 “Standard
 of
 Care”

Appendix
 3:
 Concept
 of
 a
 Medical
 “Cure”

Appendix
 4:
 Alzheimer’s
 Disease
 Statistics

Appendix
 5:
 Eye
 and
 Whole
 Body
 Diseases

Appendix
 6:
 Hope
 –
 A
 History
 Lesson.
 Medical
 Pioneers

Index

About
 the
 Authors

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Foreword

Foreword

By
 Jack
 C.
 de
 la
 Torre,
 MD,
 PhD.

It’s
 time
 to
 face
 facts.
 Suppose
 Dr.
 Alois
 Alzheimer
 came
 back
 from
 his
 grave
 to
 see
 how

the
 disease
 that
 bears
 his
 name
 has
 progressed
 in
 the
 last
 100
 years
 since
 its
 discovery

in
 1907.
 He
 would
 be
 amazed
 to
 learn
 how
 much
 innovative
 research
 has
 been
 done
 to

uncover
 the
 cellular,
 molecular
 and
 biochemical
 mechanisms
 of
 the
 disease
 but
 only

where
 animals
 and
 test
 tubes
 are
 concerned.
 It
 is
 my
 guess
 that

 Dr.
 Alzheimer
 would

also
 be
 totally
 perplexed
 and
 disheartened
 at
 the
 fact
 that
 after
 a
 century
 of
 research

and
 over
 100,000
 scientific
 papers
 written
 on
 the
 subject,
 patients
 presently
 diagnosed

with
 Alzheimer’s
 disease
 are
 no
 better
 off
 now
 than
 they
 were
 in
 1907.

 This
 fact
 alone

invites
 the
 troubling
 question,
 are
 we
 on
 the
 right
 track
 to
 finding
 a
 way
 to
 help

Alzheimer
 patients?

To
 search
 for
 an
 answer
 to
 this
 consequential
 question,
 one
 needs
 to
 read
 “The
 End
 of

Alzheimer’s”
 by
 Dr.
 Thomas
 Lewis
 and
 Dr.
 Clement
 Trempe
 who
 write
 about
 this

disqueting
 problem
 and
 possible
 ways
 to
 solve
 it.

It
 is
 important
 to
 recall
 how
 research
 works,
 both
 at
 the
 basic
 and
 clinical
 levels.

Clinical
  research
  is
  generally
  an
  off-­‐shoot
  of
  basic
  research.

  Basic
  research
  to
  a

problem
  usually
  involves
  a
  hypothesis,
  experimentation
  and
  evidence
  to
  prove
  or

disprove
 the
 hypothesis.
 If
 experimentation
 repeatedly
 fails
 to
 support
 a
 hypothesis,

scientists
 usually
 move
 on
 to
 seek
 another
 hypothesis.
 This
 is
 not
 the
 case
 with
 the

Abeta
  hypothesis,
  the
  reigning
  paradigm
  of
  Alzheimer’s
  disease
  whose
  concept
  of

clearing
 amyloid
 plaques
 from
 the
 brains
 of
 Alzheimer
 victims
 has
 entirely
 failed
 to

help
 them
 in
 reported
 clinical
 trials
 held
 so
 far.
 Common
 sense
 dictates
 that
 when
 you

discover
 you
 are
 riding
 a
 dead
 horse,
 the
 best
 stratetgy
 is
 to
 dismount.

Having
 said
 that,
 one
 assumes
 that
 although
 many
 basic
 researchers
 are
 quite
 smart,

they
  are
  also
  totally
  dependent
  on
  funding
  to
  do
  their
  research.
  No
  funding,
  no

research.

 Even
 the
 most
 brilliant
 hypothesis
 can
 lay
 in
 the
 corner
 of
 the
 laboratory

gathering
 dust
 if
 funding
 is
 not
 obtained.
 Who
 provides
 the
 funding?
 The
 main
 funders

are
 the
 pharmaceutical
 industry,
 the
 government
 (NIH)
 and
 private
 foundations,
 mostly

in
 that
 order
 of
 money-­‐giving
 generosity.

Government
  and
  private
  foundations
  rely
  on
  a
  panel
  of
  ‘experts’
  to
  advise
  the

bureaucrats
 whether
 a
 research
 project
 is
 worthy
 of
 funding.
 Often,
 a
 conflict
 of
 interest

arises
 from
 these
 supposedly
 impartial
 advisors
 who
 more
 often
 than
 not,
 opt
 to
 fund

their
 friends
 or
 research
 projects
 close
 to
 their
 hearts.
 They
 are
 in
 essence,
 the
 keepers

of
 the
 gate.
 Pharmaceutical-­‐derived
 funding
 is
 more
 businesslike.
 They
 prefer
 to
 fund

research
 projects
 that
 will
 bring
 them
 money
 by
 the
 truckload.
 Alzheimer’s
 disease
 is
 a

disorder
 that
 affects
 over
 5
 million
 people
 in
 the
 U.S.
 and
 36
 million
 worldwide
 so
 it
 has

become
 an
 excellent
 target
 of
 investment.

To
 find
 even
 a
 negligible
 benefit
 to
 Alzheimer
 patients,
 a
 patented
 drug
 sponsored
 by

pharmaceutical
 money,
 can
 mean,
 as
 Drs.
 Lewis
 and
 Trempe
 correctly
 point
 out
 in
 their

book,
 the
 mother
 lode
 of
 return
 investment
 reaching
 billions
 of
 dollars
 annually.
 This
 is

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Foreword

what
 Dr.
 Alzheimer
 would
 find
 callous
 and
 mean-­‐spirited,
 should
 he
 return
 from
 the

grave.

Since
 it
 is
 axiomatic
 that
 most
 scientists
 with
 an
 intellectual
 or
 financial
 stake
 in
 a

theory
 tend
 to
 ignore
 the
 facts
 that
 may
 undercut
 their
 views,
 it
 is
 not
 surprising
 that

the
 Abeta
 hypothesis
 has
 survived
 this
 long.
 To
 survive,
 the
 Abeta
 hypothesis
 has

creatively
 morphed
 into
 a
 9-­‐headed
 Hydra
 whose
 heads,
 like
 the
 mythical
 monster,
 can

regrow
 after
 being
 cut-­‐off.
 Thus,
 each
 time
 sharp
 evidence
 cuts
 off
 one
 of
 its
 heads,
 the

monster
 hypothesis
 survives
 by
 quickly
 growing
 another
 head.
 In
 this
 fashion,
 each

clinical
 trial
 failure
 greeted
 by
 jury
 of
 vested
 scientists
 whose
 chorus
 is,

 “it
 didn’t
 work,

BUT…”
  and
  thus,
  another
  head
  on
  the
  Hydra

  is
  regrown
  to
  fight
  another
  day.

Consequently,
 the
 continued
 re-­‐invention
 of
 these
 anti-­‐Abeta
 compounds
 continue
 to

be
 retested
 on
 Alzheimer
 in
 multi-­‐million
 dollar
 clinical
 trials.

Why
 do
 these
 pharmaceuticals
 persist
 in
 clinically
 re-­‐testing
 the
 same
 failed
 concept

over
  and
  over
  again
  and
  expecting
  a
  different
  result?
  In
  the
  case
  of
  the
  Abeta

hypothesis,
 the
 answer
 is,
 money.
 This
 point
 is
 fluently
 discussed
 by
 Drs.
 Lewis
 and

Trempe.
 They
 offer
 a
 compelling
 argument
 that
 while
 the
 Abeta
 hypothesis
 is
 dying

from
 an
 absence
 of
 supporting
 clinical
 evidence,
 millions
 of
 dollars
 continue
 to
 be

poured
  into
  these
  single-­‐minded
  Abeta
  projects
  by
  the
  greedy
  pharmaceutical

companies.
 They
 hope
 to
 tap
 into
 this
 billion
 dollar
 industry
 if
 one
 of
 their
 drugs
 is

approved
 for
 any
 positive
 action
 on
 Alzheimer’s
 disease,
 no
 matter
 how
 clinically

inconseqeuntial.

Tragically,
 research
 avenues
 not
 dealing
 with
 anti-­‐Abeta
 therapy
 are
 ignored
 by
 these

same
 pharmaceuticals
 who
 have
 decided,
 at
 least
 for
 the
 moment,
 not
 to
 hedge
 their

bets
 with
 several
 promising
 concepts
 that
 may
 help
 prevent
 or
 control
 Alzheimer
 onset.

Drs.
 Lewis
 and
 Trempe
 also
 discuss
 the
 important
 issue
 concerning
 how
 the
 start
 of

Alzheimer’s
 disease
 can
 be
 significantly
 prevented
 or
 controlled
 by
 early
 identification

and
  detection
  of
  offending
  risk
  factors
  in
  both
  healthy
  and
  mildly
  symptomatic

individuals.
 Such
 a
 strategy
 involves
 treating
 the
 modifiable
 precursors
 to
 Alzheimer

dementia
 will
 also
 ensure
 their
 control
 and
 prevention.
 This
 approach
 will
 not
 only

result
 in
 a
 better
 mental
 health
 outlook
 for
 the
 patient
 but
 also
 will
 significantly
 lower

the
 exponentially
 growing
 incidence
 of
 this
 devastating
 dementia
 and
 the
 explosive

impact
 from
 its
 socio-­‐economic
 consequences.

Drs.
 Lewis
 and
 Trempe
 have
 written
 a
 mind-­‐opening,
 well-­‐informed
 and
 intelligent

account
  of
  the
  history,
  present
  and
  future
  interventions
  and
  distillation
  of
  keen

thinking
 on
 the
 subject
 of
 Alzheimer’s
 disease.
 This
 book
 will
 be
 the
 focus
 of
 many

prospective
 and
 pivotal
 discussions
 on
 how
 medical
 research
 will
 eventually
 govern

this
 mind-­‐shattering
 disorder.

Jack
 C.
 de
 la
 Torre,
 MD,
 PhD

Professor
 of
 Psychology

University
 of
 Texas,
 Austin

Austin,
 Texas
 79712

Senior
 Editor,
 Journal
 of
 Alzheimer’s
 Disease

www.realhealthclinics.com
 -­‐
 All
 Rights
 Reserved
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